Tell us your views on our draft Buckinghamshire Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP)

We asked for your views on our draft Buckinghamshire Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP). To help us develop a future walking, cycling and wheeling network plan for the county, we asked whether you felt we had identified the right priority ‘corridors’ between settlements and if there are other connections that should be considered.

Respondents were able to indicate their views on the overall network and on any of the proposed ‘corridors’, which were grouped based on geographical areas.

We also asked you to tell us about your current travel behaviours and the factors which influence active travel.

The consultation ran from 2 September to 13 October 2024.

We received 734 responses in total to the consultation, including:

• 678 online responses
• 1 postal response
• 55 email responses – 9 of which were from town and parish councils

Feedback was also received at The Bucks County Show, Bucks Youth Summit, and four public drop-in events.

Aylesbury area

Of the 435 online responses received on the Aylesbury area:

• support for the proposed 13 corridors ranged between 83% and 96%
• 18 alternative corridors or amendments were suggested

Buckingham and Winslow area

Of the 85 online responses received on the Buckingham and Winslow area:

• support for the proposed 12 corridors ranged from 84% to 93%
• 11 alternative corridors or amendments were suggested

Amersham, Chesham and the Chalfonts area

Of the 64 online responses received on the Amersham, Chesham and the Chalfonts area:

• support for the proposed 14 corridors ranged from 76% to 90%
• 10 alternative corridors or amendments were suggested

Wexham, the Ivers and the Farnhams area

Of the 31 online responses received on the Wexham, the Ivers and the Farnhams area:

• support for the proposed 6 corridors ranged between 69% and 83%
• 4 alternative corridors or amendments were suggested

Wycombe area

Of the 157 online responses received on the Wycombe area:

• support for the proposed 15 corridors ranged between 58% and 89%
• 8 alternative corridors or amendments were suggested

Buckinghamshire LCWIP network plan

249 online responses were received on the survey question on the overall LCWIP network plan – 82% strongly agreed or agreed with the proposed network.

The Buckinghamshire Greenway

246 online responses were received on the survey question on the Buckinghamshire Greenway – 80% strongly agreed or agreed with the proposal.

Travel perceptions

The consultation collected information on respondents’ perceived barriers to active travel in Buckinghamshire and their perceptions of what would encourage them to make active travel journeys in Buckinghamshire.

Respondents stated that they travel actively for the following reasons in Buckinghamshire.

• shopping and local services (83% of respondents)
• park/green spaces (64% of respondents)
• medical appointments (56% of respondents)
• work/business (49% of respondents)
• access public transport (bus stop/train station) (42% of respondents)
• school, college or other place of education (16% of respondents)
• nursey/pre-school (10% of respondents)

The top three barriers to active travel in Buckinghamshire, as identified by 276 respondents who answered this question, were:

• busy roads (79% of respondents)
• lack of suitable routes (67% of respondents)
• personal safety concerns (41% of respondents)

Factors that most respondents said would greatly encourage or encourage them to travel more actively in Buckinghamshire were:

• separation from motorised vehicles (346 respondents)
• safe crossing points and junctions (335 respondents)
• smooth path surface (341 respondents)
• separation of users [e.g. cycling and walking] (331 respondents)
• lighting and visibility (330 respondents)

Buckinghamshire Youth Summit

Targeted youth engagement on the draft Buckinghamshire LCWIP took place at the Bucks Youth Summit in March 2024. Over 50 young people were engaged and many indicated support for ‘corridors’ proposed in the draft Buckinghamshire LCWIP.

The participants commented that factors including smooth surfacing, crossing points and supporting features such as greenery and seating points were important to consider the design of walking, cycling and wheeling infrastructure.

The following key changes have been made to the LCWIP following the consultation:

• refinements to proposed LCWIP ‘corridors’ based on feedback (e.g. enhancing network coverage and strengthening cross-border connectivity).
• additional ‘corridors’ - five additional corridors incorporated into the LCWIP network, based on feedback received through the consultation, the anticipated level of demand/usage of the ‘corridor’ and opportunities to further enhance connectivity.  The five additional ‘corridors’ are:
  • ‘Pitstone-Tring’;
  • ‘Chalfont St Giles-Little Chalfont’;
  • ‘Holmer Green-Great Missenden’;
  • ‘Farnham Royal-Burnham’;
  • ‘Marlow-Henley on Thames’.
• aspirations - updated mapping of aspirations, incorporating the additional aspirations identified through the consultation.

The Buckinghamshire LCWIP and consultation results, including the travel perceptions findings, are to be further considered further as part of the development of future active travel schemes. They will also be integrated appropriately with the Council’s Local Transport Plan 5 and Local Plan for Buckinghamshire, which are currently in development.

On 11 February 2025, Cabinet agreed to adopt the Buckinghamshire LCWIP as Council policy.

View the adopted Buckinghamshire LCWIP.